The Fall

Around 4:30 on Jan. 25 I took a 30-minute walk in our hilly neighborhood to destress from the chaos in the world and all that is going on in my life right now.  After walking the length of our road and back, I headed up the steep driveway, went into the garage to get birdseed and walked back outside and along the driveway past our raised stone wall. Once on the meditation path above the wall, I filled the bird and squirrel feeders.

I imagine that I then retraced my steps back in the direction of the open garage door with the empty birdseed container in hand, ready to go into the house through the kitchen door. Once inside, I would have pushed the automatic garage door button and closed it for the night.  

But I didn’t.

I have no memory of what occurred next or of losing consciousness and falling on the back of my head on the concrete driveway, or of getting up, or of going back into the house.  I did not close the garage door for the night. The birdseed container and a comb from my hair were on the driveway along with a pool of blood that I discovered the next morning.  At some point that Friday evening, I put my hand on the back of my head and discovered blood.  But I had no idea where it was from and assumed I’d fallen somewhere in the house.

Fast forward to the next morning when I went to the ER to have my head examined.   I was told by the ER doctor that I’d had a concussion from the fall, thus explaining the amnesia associated with the event.  My heart rate while in the ER was 72. I had two lacerations on the back of my head that by then had closed, I had skinned my knuckles and elbow on my right side, and a sizeable goose egg I’d sustained from the fall had gone down. 

Eager to know what caused me to black out, I had an EKG at my doctor’s office on Tuesday morning that indicated I have a condition called Bradycardia—slow heart in Latin.  A healthy heart rate is between 60 and 100.  In the doctor’s office that morning mine was 59.  Our son Hayden says that’s an athlete’s heart rate.  I eat a heart healthy diet—fruit, nuts, vegetables, whole wheat, fish, and lean meat if any meat at all. My nephew Christopher is also Bradycardic with a resting heart rate of 50-55. 

How low did my heart rate drop for me to pass out?  How long was I out cold?  What angel reached down and pulled me back up? Was stress or dehydration the cause?  And what’s to be done?

Three tests for my unwitnessed loss of consciousness event were discussed at my doctor’s appointment.  The EKG had revealed that I have Bradycardia—slow heart— because it was below 60 beats/minute during the test. Next, a local cardiology office will install a ZIO Patch monitor to be worn 10-14 days for 24 hours/day to record my heart rhythm. 

On Feb. 6th I go in for a Carotid ultrasound and echocardiogram.  These tests are to see if my Carotid artery has narrowed with age (I’m 79) and might have contributed to my January 25th loss of consciousness event.

I’ve also requested head imaging (a CT Scan or MRI) to make sure there is not a slow bleed in my skull from the impact of hitting my head on a concrete driveway.  In the meantime I’m getting appointments underway, staying hydrated, eating a heart-healthy diet, checking my heartrate with an Oximeter regularly, and add an Emergen C electrolyte packet to a glass of water once a day. I’m also getting in 30 minutes of exercise a day on a recumbent bike while looking out at steady rain that has finally arrived like a blessing after a warm January without a jot of rain or snow.

Family and friends have been in constant touch, eager to know what I learn from various tests. Heidi has been an enormous comfort and help visiting Kit at the Lodge when I’m not able to be there.  Hayden calls almost daily from Spain. Neighbors have brought dinners and groceries, text regularly and have offered to take me to doctor’s appointments. Evenings, Peekay keeps me company and Pico Iyer’s new book Aflame is a welcome meditation.

So dear family, friends and readers, this is my new Bradycardic reality.  I’ll keep you posted as to any necessary treatment (as yet determined).  And if you have had experiences of your own related to a head trauma or Bradycardia, I’m all ears. In today’s stressful, chaotic world, I’m hanging on by a bobby pin and a comb.